Contract negotiations between Collingwood and forwards Brody Mihocek, Jamie Elliott, Mason Cox and Norm Smith medallist, Bobby Hill, are ongoing.
With their 2025 campaign ended at the hands of rivals Brisbane in Saturday night's preliminary final, the attention of coach Craig McRae and list boss Justin Leppitsch must turn to retention and recruitment, with their forward line sure to be a focus.
"It's been put to the back burner and now it's the 'front burner'. Let's get busy and work through that," McRae said, following the 29-point defeat.
McRae infamously outlined an approach of recruitment as opposed to drafting last off-season, but has cooled on that stance, one year on.
"I'm not going to stand still trying to get better," he said.
"Last year I said it was players over picks; it won't be that extreme this year," he continued.
"We're hopeful [Elliott and Mihocek will be here next season]. Jamie was enormous once again tonight and has had an incredible year. He's a wanted player and we've offered these guys two-year contracts, both of them, so I'm not sure why it's been led through the media."
Speaking to Fox Footy's On the Couch, veteran journalist Jon Ralph provided updates on the raft of forwards currently in the player movement limelight.
“Big decisions (are) ahead for a lot of senior Pies. The Collingwood footy club can't guarantee it'll keep any, or all of Jamie Elliott, Brody Mihocek and Bobby Hill — there are suitors for all of them,” Ralph said.
“Elliott has a two-year offer at the Pies right now, he has not signed that. It's around $1 million (collectively) if he can hit some incentives. Gold Coast is very keen. It has not offered him a deal in any way yet.
“They're saying to him: 'You come to us, tell us you want to be a Gold Coast player, and we will offer you a deal'. That is likely to be three years, and again, likely to be $500,000 a year.
“He would love to finish his career as a one-club player, he has huge loyalty there (at Collingwood), but he certainly has family connections up in Airlie Beach ... I think he is absolutely considering it at the moment.”
In the eyes of many, Elliott, a member of Collingwood's leadership group, was unlucky not to be selected in this year's All-Australian team, on the back of a career-best year in front of goal. If it is to be his final year at the Pies, the electric small provided the faithful with a parting gift, in the form of another magnificent mark on the weekend.
Enjoy the (what would have been) the 2025 AFL mark of the year by Jamie Elliott in 4k!
Even as a Lions supporter, that is one hell of a mark!#aflfinals #aflpieslions #4k #pies #lions #markoftheyear #aflgf pic.twitter.com/fNww0tDlSZ
— Aaron South (@azasouth) September 21, 2025
Mihocek was emotional in the rooms following Collingwood's defeat on Saturday night, with speculation rife that this signifies the end of his storied tenure in the black and white.
“Mihocek has a three-year offer at the Demons, two years at Collingwood. He was in tears post-match after that loss, and some of his teammates interpret that as potentially a signal that is his last game at Collingwood, but he has not yet made that decision," Ralph said.
The man affectionately known as 'Checkers' led Collingwood's goalkicking for five consecutive seasons, from 2019 to their flag-winning season of 2023, drawing praise along the way for his workmanlike, team-first approach to the combative key forward post.
The 211cm American Cox is reportedly in line for another season at Olympic Boulevard, having worked his way into Collingwood's finals mix in a contract year.
Rumours persist that Hill could also be on the move, following a disrupted year on and off the field, which culminated in him being overlooked at selection for the finals series. However, Ralph reports Hill is keen to stay a member of Craig McRae's side, and Hill's own recent social media activity reflects this loyalty.
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“Bobby Hill wants to stay, he's contracted. Gold Coast are interested, but he's not keen to move north. He has (though) told confidants that if his partner and children did move back to Perth, he'd have to consider following them at some stage," Ralph said.
Decision makers at the AIA Centre must now decide whether or not to go all in on one last tilt at a 17th V/AFL premiership in 2026, or retool for the future. Decisions regarding the tenures of these forwards will be a key part of whichever philosophy they choose.
